It is well known in the construction of outdoor (patio) decks and porches to use a foundation unit commonly known as a pier block. Another commonly used method of supporting a deck is to use a post, either metal or wood, placed directly into freshly poured concrete and is thereby firmly held in place when the concrete hardens. Due to the difficulty of getting all of the pier blocks or footing members in a level plane, a support beam held by such members is equally difficult to level. Typically, once the beams are placed on the supports a wedge is used to adjust the height, and therefore level the structural beams. It is not uncommon for a pier block or post to have a saddle member attached to the top thereof which fits around the structural beam and is attached by either nailing or screwing the saddle and beam together. Even when the pieces are not securely fastened, it is still difficult to relevel the deck after a period of time, when one or more of the pier blocks or footings has settled. Some of the prior art components and techniques are discussed hereinafter. The present invention provides a pier block that is adjustable during construction of a deck or the like, for leveling support beams, and is capable of additional adjustment after any settling occurs.
Hughes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,919, issued Oct. 28, 1980, discloses a kit of components for interconnecting structural members. The first structural member or foundation support shown and described includes a hole filled with concrete wherein a pipe inserted therein to a depth equal in height to a string tied to stakes for aid in leveling a plurality of pipes. It is described that the pipes may be cut-off after the concrete has hardened, or shimmed up as much as two inches by using short pieces of pipe or washers. A ground saddle having a short piece of tube extending therefrom is then placed over the top of each pipe. Then the structural members, such as beams, are placed in the ground saddles, which are adjustable for varying widths of joists or beams. Once the deck is completed it is impractical or impossible to adjust the height of the pipes due to the weight of the decking on each saddle.
Josephson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,780 issued Sep. 20, 1983, discloses a support system for restraining lateral movement of pier mounted buildings. A pier block is shown and described which has an angle bracket for supporting a structural beam. Part of the pier block includes a jack screw which is attached to the angle bracket. The jack screw extends down through an adjusting nut into the pier block. The nut is very thin with only a minimum number of internal threads. The adjusting nut can be turned to either raise or lower the jack screw and the structural beam. The adjusting nut has a bearing surface on the top of the pier block. The jack screw is prevented from turning due to its attachment to the top bracket which is fixedly held to the structural beam. It is the angle bracket and its relationship to the structural beam preventing the structural beam from moving laterally that is the object of this reference.